R&B/Hip-Hop

Back in 2017, Phillip Leeds dropped the critically acclaimed photography book BIG SHOTS! that captured the likes of Lewis Hamilton, Jay-Z, Pharrell, David Byrne, A$AP Rocky, Questlove, Andre Leon Talley, Justin Timberlake and more.
Now he’s back with BIG SHOTS!! Volume Two: More Shots From the Worlds of Music, Fashion and Beyond. This second volume features SZA on the cover and a foreword from Pharrell with more than 500 Polaroid portraits inside. Some of those portraits include KAWS, Dave Grohl, George Clinton, James Lipton, Ari Melber, Megan Thee Stallion, John David Washington and a slew of other heavyweights in music, fashion, film and media.

“I met Phillip way back, in ’95 or ’96, and he was always the guy who would say, ‘Let’s take a picture,’” Pharrell said of Phillip Leeds in BIG SHOTS! Volume 1.

Born and raised in New York City, Leeds is a well known vet within the music and fashion scene, but only began publishing his work in 2017 and used the Polaroid Big Shot camera exclusively for these photos. In association with Blurring Books, the photographer is hosting a launch party and exhibit on Friday, Aug. 23 in Los Angeles. BIG SHOTS!! Volume Two is set to drop Tuesday, Aug. 27.

We were given exclusive access to share 10 never-before-seen photos of some of your favorite rappers, singers and DJs like Tyler, the Creator, Snoop Dogg, Swizz Beatz & Alicia Keys, Sister Nancy, No Malice, D-Nice, BIA, RZA, Roxanne Shanté and Redman.

Check ’em out below and preorder the book here.

Atlanta fans preparing to see Usher kick off his Past Present Future tour on Wednesday night (Aug. 14) will have to wait as the R&B superstar announced that the opening show at State Farm Arena has been postponed for a later date.
Usher released a statement to social media on Wednesday hours before he was slated to hit the stage where he cited an ailment causing him to slow down and give his “body a second to rest and heal.”

A rep for the singer relayed to Variety that Usher needed extra “time to heal from an unspecified injury.” Billboard has reached out to Usher’s team for comment.

Trending on Billboard

“For my 30-plus year career, 100% of my blood, sweat and tears has gone into putting on the best performance and creating a memorable experience for my fans. I have every intention of doing that for this tour as well which is why I have to postpone tonight’s show and reschedule it for a later date to give my body a second to rest and heal,” he wrote.

The Grammy-winning singer continued: “You’re still going to get a bit of the past, some of the present and a unique look into the future on the rescheduled date but you’ll also be getting 100% of me. The last thing I want to ever do is disappoint you, the fans who have been eagerly waiting for this tour to start. However, I wouldn’t be the entertainer that I am if I can’t physically give you my best. My team will be sharing news of the rescheduled date soon. I can’t wait to celebrate this legacy with you.”

As of press time, the second and third shows from the original trio of Atlanta dates are still on as scheduled, per Ticketmaster.

The Usher: Past Present Future tour is set to rumble through North America with stops slated for Boston, Toronto, NYC, Detroit, Los Angeles, Dallas, Miami and will wrap up in Chicago with a pair of shows to close out October.

The trek will cap off what’s been a banner year for the 45-year-old hitmaker, who headlined the Super Bowl LXVIII Halftime Show in Las Vegas back in February, released his ninth studio album Coming Home and was honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2024 BET Awards in June.

“Getting here has definitely not been easy, but it has been worth it,” he said while accepting the honor at the BET Awards.

A new date for Wednesday’s show is yet to be announced. Usher’s next scheduled to take the stage in Atlanta for a pair of shows on Friday (Aug. 16) and Saturday (Aug. 17). See his full statement below.

Tyler, The Creator has expressed some regret for publicly shading Eminem’s Recovery album in 2010 — and he says a Netflix show inspired his change-of-heart.
The Grammy-winning rapper pulled up to Maverick Carter’s Mavericks show on Wednesday (Aug. 14) and among the myriad topics touched on in the music world, Tyler made sure to apologize to Eminem for his harsh criticism of Slim Shady’s 2010 LP, not understanding what he was going through to make the project at the time.

“When [Recovery] came out I f——g hated it,” Tyler said. “Publicly was like, ‘This s–t is wack.’ Didn’t like it and after watching [2023 Netflix miniseries Painkillers] I felt so bad about those tweets and things like that because thinking from his perspective someone like me publicly saying that stuff and him off drugs and being clean and getting to a point in life where that’s behind him and me implying, ‘Nah, this s–t is wack.’”

Trending on Billboard

He continued: “He probably felt like I was attacking him. I thought I was just like, ‘I don’t like the music.’ He was in a different part of his life and probably felt like I was attacking him. Now I feel so bad about saying that stuff because my perspective was so limited.”

Tyler gushed about his appreciation for Em and his assistance in teaching him how to rap without even knowing it. “I love Eminem. That dude taught me how to rap,” he added. “I learned how to put words together in rhythm because of some of the Eminem stuff I was hearing and storytelling and things like that.”

The Odd Future alum wants to apologize to Em in person if he ever runs into the Detroit legend. “After watching that show, that gave me perspective — this was a few months ago — and I felt so terrible about some of the things I said about that Recovery album because I realized that was a big step and meant a lot to him and my f—ing stupid a– is like, ‘I wanna hear the same song and dance and I loved The Eminem Show,’” he said. “But he’s not there anymore. I felt terrible. If I ever see him, I want to tell him that in-person.”

Despite Tyler’s criticism, Recovery was still a major commercial hit with a No. 1 debut atop the Billboard 200 with 741,000 total album units sold in the first week. The LP went on to take home best rap album honors at the 2011 Grammy Awards.

Eminem and Tyler, the Creator have had an icy relationship over the last decade-plus. Slim Shady flagrantly dissed Tyler on Kamikaze‘s “Fall” in 2018. “Tyler create nothing, I see why you called yourself a f—-t, b—h,” he raps.

However, Em later admitted that he regretted his choice of words during an interview with Sway following the album’s arrival. “I think the word that I called him on that song was one of the things where I felt like this might be too far,” he said. “Because in my quest to hurt him, I realize that I was hurting a lot of other people by saying it. It was one of the things that I kept going back to and going, ‘I don’t feel right with this.’”

With olive branches extended, there appears to be a path to reconciliation for Em and Tyler — and who knows, maybe they’ll work together down the line. Watch the full episode below.

[embedded content]

Doechii is ringing in her 26th birthday Wednesday (Aug. 14) with a special gift for her fans: a new mixtape titled Alligator Bites Never Heal. The Florida rapper/singer revealed the cover art for the new project, which features her holding an albino alligator on her lap while she’s sitting in an antique wooden chair. “Happy […]

Fanatics CEO Michael Rubin sat down with The Breakfast Club Wednesday (Aug. 14) morning ahead of Fanatics Fest in New York City this upcoming weekend (Aug. 16-18). Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news During their conversation, co-host Loren LoRosa brought up the rumor that he banned Kendrick Lamar‘s […]